(Featuring Zofie Kaminsky)
Bart squinted, shifting in his '67 Shelby GT500's bucket seat as the whirl and whip of psychedelic Planeforms spiraled around his car. His hand fidgeted over the gearshift before returning to the wheel, nervous energy zipping up and down his arm like a colony of ants that had found a bag of cocaine mixed with sugar. However, as the Road before him started to bank and curl around itself at its usual mind-blunting angles, the mage took a deep, slow breath and fell as best to center as he could. At least, until he caught sight of a relatively steady dash of hot pink on the ever-changing backgrounds of color.
Zofie's progress through the Nexus seemed awkward, if slow-going. Her palms vibrated as the eyelets in her palms kept open, with her stride no less stilted and deliberate. Hexagonal webs seemed to spill out from each step, offering her purchase in an otherwise chaotic landscape as she maneuvered around her Charge's 'tug' at her center of gravity. Though stumbling like a terrified foal through the space between multiverses, her demeanor changed the moment she caught sight of the midnight blue sports car, to say nothing of the driver's straw-blonde hair and the plumes of smoke curling around its interior. She didn't run so much as gambol toward the vehicle, waving both arms maniacally as a relieved grin plastered on her face. "BAAAAAAWRT!!!!"
"Ohhhh ****." Bart let out a low chuckle as he "skidded" to a stop next to the limber lady scrambling toward his car, deftly maneuvering between rolling down his window, steering, shifting and braking to settle himself right next to her. "Heeeey, look at you walkin' around in the Multiverse's guts. 'Sup, Trouble?"
Zofie leaned over to rest her elbows on the open window's frame, crossing one leg behind the other and plopping her chin into her palm. "Ohh, jus' doin' the bidding of my undead masters while walkin' the asscrack of reality. Usual Tuesday ****." She scrunched her nose emphatically, yet soon relaxed to take a good hard whiff of the plumes spilling out from the car around her, leading her to choke, snicker, and tap poor Bart on the tip of his nose. "Smells like you've been havin' a good time, sir."
Bart's reply came as simple as his low, sleepy chuckle, a Hehehurhurhur that both warmed the heart and brought particularly large gremlins to mind. He turned his half-closed eyes toward the Cavalier settled by his window, only to squint at another shape somewhere above and behind her, dark and weighty, with just that hint of off-timing to show it as a separate thing trying to camouflage with the weirdness around them. He showed no alarm, simply shrugging shyly from her allegations. "Yeaaah... Had to get to Albuquerque to pick up this Super Snake. I love the 'Stang and all, but I feel like I've been renting time with her and she's about ready to find the right person for her." He pointed across his chest at her, features stern. "Anyway, If you ever... ever wanna get legit high and you get to my Earth, you let me know. I will make sure you're taken care of. Seriously."
Zofe brought her hand down from her chin and pressed her fingertips to her sternum, her features soft and delighted. "Why Bartholomew Grease-Eagle Fitzroy, I am touched by your offer, sir! I will take you up on that if this weird-ass journey doesn't put me off of di-mensional travel all together." She leaned in, pressing a kiss to Bart's cheek before scootching back, offering the car-wizard a wink and a twinkling wave. "Drive safe, now! Mona idn't sayin' it, but I'm sure she misses you!"
He closed his eyes as her kiss landed on his slightly-rough cheek, smiling quietly as he lifted his hand to wave in return. "You too! Careful out there!" He rolled up his window as he sped off, rolling around the hairpin turns and sharp hills of trip-face landscape on his way back to Rhy'Din.
* * * * * * * * *
Once the Cavalier had padded off and the Gearhead had driven away, the dark shape began to unfold, stretching in a web-like film that coated the Road. Little by little, the dark mass started to crawl, filling in the ambient space around the magically-manifested highway like a sentient hair-clog. Wet, drooping tendrils reached forth, sniffing out the nourishing membranes that flowed parallel to the mage-mobile's path. In directions unable to be pointed to, the Shape quivered in anticipation.
Bart squinted, shifting in his '67 Shelby GT500's bucket seat as the whirl and whip of psychedelic Planeforms spiraled around his car. His hand fidgeted over the gearshift before returning to the wheel, nervous energy zipping up and down his arm like a colony of ants that had found a bag of cocaine mixed with sugar. However, as the Road before him started to bank and curl around itself at its usual mind-blunting angles, the mage took a deep, slow breath and fell as best to center as he could. At least, until he caught sight of a relatively steady dash of hot pink on the ever-changing backgrounds of color.
Zofie's progress through the Nexus seemed awkward, if slow-going. Her palms vibrated as the eyelets in her palms kept open, with her stride no less stilted and deliberate. Hexagonal webs seemed to spill out from each step, offering her purchase in an otherwise chaotic landscape as she maneuvered around her Charge's 'tug' at her center of gravity. Though stumbling like a terrified foal through the space between multiverses, her demeanor changed the moment she caught sight of the midnight blue sports car, to say nothing of the driver's straw-blonde hair and the plumes of smoke curling around its interior. She didn't run so much as gambol toward the vehicle, waving both arms maniacally as a relieved grin plastered on her face. "BAAAAAAWRT!!!!"
"Ohhhh ****." Bart let out a low chuckle as he "skidded" to a stop next to the limber lady scrambling toward his car, deftly maneuvering between rolling down his window, steering, shifting and braking to settle himself right next to her. "Heeeey, look at you walkin' around in the Multiverse's guts. 'Sup, Trouble?"
Zofie leaned over to rest her elbows on the open window's frame, crossing one leg behind the other and plopping her chin into her palm. "Ohh, jus' doin' the bidding of my undead masters while walkin' the asscrack of reality. Usual Tuesday ****." She scrunched her nose emphatically, yet soon relaxed to take a good hard whiff of the plumes spilling out from the car around her, leading her to choke, snicker, and tap poor Bart on the tip of his nose. "Smells like you've been havin' a good time, sir."
Bart's reply came as simple as his low, sleepy chuckle, a Hehehurhurhur that both warmed the heart and brought particularly large gremlins to mind. He turned his half-closed eyes toward the Cavalier settled by his window, only to squint at another shape somewhere above and behind her, dark and weighty, with just that hint of off-timing to show it as a separate thing trying to camouflage with the weirdness around them. He showed no alarm, simply shrugging shyly from her allegations. "Yeaaah... Had to get to Albuquerque to pick up this Super Snake. I love the 'Stang and all, but I feel like I've been renting time with her and she's about ready to find the right person for her." He pointed across his chest at her, features stern. "Anyway, If you ever... ever wanna get legit high and you get to my Earth, you let me know. I will make sure you're taken care of. Seriously."
Zofe brought her hand down from her chin and pressed her fingertips to her sternum, her features soft and delighted. "Why Bartholomew Grease-Eagle Fitzroy, I am touched by your offer, sir! I will take you up on that if this weird-ass journey doesn't put me off of di-mensional travel all together." She leaned in, pressing a kiss to Bart's cheek before scootching back, offering the car-wizard a wink and a twinkling wave. "Drive safe, now! Mona idn't sayin' it, but I'm sure she misses you!"
He closed his eyes as her kiss landed on his slightly-rough cheek, smiling quietly as he lifted his hand to wave in return. "You too! Careful out there!" He rolled up his window as he sped off, rolling around the hairpin turns and sharp hills of trip-face landscape on his way back to Rhy'Din.
* * * * * * * * *
Once the Cavalier had padded off and the Gearhead had driven away, the dark shape began to unfold, stretching in a web-like film that coated the Road. Little by little, the dark mass started to crawl, filling in the ambient space around the magically-manifested highway like a sentient hair-clog. Wet, drooping tendrils reached forth, sniffing out the nourishing membranes that flowed parallel to the mage-mobile's path. In directions unable to be pointed to, the Shape quivered in anticipation.